Consequences of Mutations in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Sars-Cov-2) Genome in Comparison to Other Pathogenic Coronaviruses

Abstract

Background: Late December 2019, an unknown incidence of Pneumonia was observed among some residents of Wuhan city, China. The disease named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and declared as a pandemic by the WHO on the March 11th, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) has resulted to the death of million people across the globe. Prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), two other outbreaks of coronaviruses namely severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been experienced within the last few decades. This review looks at the unique characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 to the other coronaviruses (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV) and its significance(s) in the control strategies including diagnostics.
 Materials and Methods: Using the keywords “coronavirus mutation”, “nucleotide substitution”, “coronavirus evolution”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “COVID-19” published literatures on coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 were retrieved from MEDLINE and reviewed for gaps and current knowledge as it relates to evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
 Results: In comparison with seasonal flu, investigations revealed that SARS-CoV-2 mutates less rapidly which provides an edge in the possible development of a long-lasting vaccine to combat the spread of the virus. Though, several mutations in the genome of the virus with dire consequences on the diagnostics have been identified.
 Conclusions: The unique importance of mutation as a mechanism of survival for viruses cannot be overemphasized. Several mutations have been observed in SARS-CoV-2 genome whose implications as regards diagnostics and control measures have been highlighted herein.

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“…The genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus shows similarities with the previous strains of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV but has a greater transmission rate. For example, the sequence analysis showed similarities of more than 80% with SARS-CoV and more than 50% with MERS-CoV [63] . The human cell entry receptors for both the SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV variants are the same angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) protein [64] .…”